Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Within the tower crane business, the 1950s featured many important milestones in tower crane design and development. There were a variety of manufacturers were beginning to produce more bottom slewing cranes which had telescoping mast. These kinds of machines dominated the construction industry for office and apartment block construction. Many of the top tower crane manufacturers didn't use cantilever jib designs. Instead, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, utilizing luffing jibs became the standard method.
Manufacturers based in Europe were also really important in the development and design of tower cranes. Construction locations on the continent were often tight places. Relying upon rail systems to move several tower cranes, ended up being very costly and difficult. A number of manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These types of cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms which enabled sections of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it can grow along with the structures it was building upwards.
These particular cranes have long jibs and can cover a larger work area. All of these developments precipitated the practice of constructing and anchoring cranes in the lift shaft of a building. Afterwards, this is the technique which became the industry standard.
The main focus on tower crane development and design from the 1960s started on covering a higher load moment, covering a bigger job radius, climbing mechanisms and technology, faster erection strategies, and new control systems. Moreover, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most important developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.